Metallic head eob wooden kegs and the like



Nov 25, 1924. i 1,517,087

Y G. E. MITTINGER METALLIC HEAD FOR WOODEN KEGS AND THE LIKE Nov, 25, 1924. i

y G. E. MITTINGER METALLIC HEAD Fon WOODEN Kms AND THE LIKE Filed Jan. 25 1924 :s sheets-sheet 2 G. E. MITTINGER METALLIC HEAD FOR WOODEN KEGS AND THE LIKE s sheets-sheer s Filed Jan. 25 1.924

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PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE EUGENE MITTINGER, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

METALLIC HEAD FOR WOODEN KEGS .AND THE LIKE.

Application filed.l January 25, 1924.

To all whom if may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. Mir'riNenn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahogaand State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Metallic Heads for Wooden Kegs andthe like, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to improvements in metallic heads for wooden kegs and the like and it is intended specially for kegs that are packed with nails, nuts, rivets, etc.

l/Vooden kegs with wood heads which are made to receive nails, nuts, rivets, etc., for shipping, must be made cheap, 'and necessarily the material and labor are` cheap, which makes the heads liable to be forced out under the weight of the contents, or the kegs to collapse in the rough usage of transportation and otherwise to which they areV necessarily subjected.

In providing a metallic head for a wooden keg it is essential that the head be attached to the woodenV keg so that it can not be detached by rough usage to which the keg is subjected in the handling of it in being transported from the manufacturer to its destination.

It is well known to those handling wooden kegs packed with nails, nuts, rivets, bolts, etc., that the heads are frequently forced outV by theV weight of its contents when the keg is accidentally dropped, or the keg collapses with the result that its contents are lost or must be swept up, and as a consequence they must to a certain degree be carefully handled to prevent such occurrence.`

Bearing in mind 'the foregoing weakness of wooden kegs, the primary object of my present invention is the production of a metallic head which when applied will prevent the keg from collapsing, and will prevent the removal of the head by the dropping vof the keg, while at the same time is capable of being quickly removed when it is desired to be opened, all ofwhich will be understood vfrom the following description and disclosure.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l shows a sectional view of one end of a wooden keg with my improved metallic head applied thereto.

Figure 2 is a similar view, with my im- Serial No. 688,431.

keg with the wooden head, which shows the manner of constructing the wooden keg upon which the present invention is an improvement.

Figure 7 is a top plan view of the wooden keg with the wood head.

In the drawings: the wooden keg 1 has the ends of its staves 2 cut away as shown at 2 and immediately below the cut away portion it is provided with an annular groove 3 usually referred to as the croze. All wooden kegs and the like are constructed as above described as is well known. rlhe keg to which my improved metal cover l attached, is made up of very rough material, the said material lnot being planed at all, and the staves having their edges shaped so as to make the bilged portion 5 of the keg. lVhen the staves are secured together by the bands 6 their ends are in irregular form as shown in Figure 4.

My improved cover 4t is stamped or pressed from sheet metal and has a centrally flat portion 7, and a peripheral upwardly and outwardly inclined part 8, an annular fiat portion 9 and a downwardly and outwardly extending part 10. The parts 8 and l() are inclined to correspond with the in side cut away portion 2 of the stave and with the taper of the outer side of the stave due to its bilge. Preferably the lower edge tion on the end of the wooden staves it is secured in that position by expanding it inward into the crc-Ze 3 as shown at l2.V rlhe expansion of the cover lifts up the flat porn tion 7 until the flat portion is about on a level with the lower edge of the Croze. 'lhat is to say, when the cover isin position to be cXpanded into the croi/e 3 the tiat portion 7 is below the croze as shown in Figure l, whereas the expansion of the part 8 liftsV the flat portion 7 until it is about on a line with the lower part of the croze.

This operation clamps the ends of the staves between the expanded portion l2 and the inclined portion l0, thus making securer covers for the ends of the keg. This cover is so tightly clamped to the ends of the staves of the keg that it can not be forced outward by the impact of its contents if the keg should be dropped, in the handling of it, even a considerable distance, rllherefore this covering is unquestionably substantially permanent for holding the contents in the wooden keg. VAttention is directed to the fact that the flattened portion l1 is preferably slightly above or substantially opposite the lcroze of the keg thereby providing the cover with a stiftening to sustain the outer tension caused by pressing the cover into the croze. 'lhis ar- Y rangement produces a very tight clamp and one which will stand the very rough usage to which the keg in transportation is at times subjected.

VHaving produced a cover which is clamped so tightly to the ends of the staves, the next problem was to devise means for removing the cover when it is desired to open it for access to its contents. l accomplish. this' in the following manner: `When the keg has reached its destination and it is desired lto remove the cover, the cover is l'rnocked down as shown in Figure 3 by means of a hammer, hitting it around its edge as shown at 13, Figure 3, which drav s the expanded portion 12 out of the croze when the cover can be removed. '.lhe material of which the cover is made is pliable and simply tapping it on the outer side draws the cover out of the croze. Vlith the cover expanded into the croze as at l2 in Figure l any outward pressure of the con# tents serve to force the expanded portion tighter in the croze, but by tapping it downward readily draws it out of the Croze so that it is quickly and readily removed. ltis surprising how quickly and readily the cover can be removed and it requires only a very few seconds to accomplish it.

A much better grade of wood is required for heads than for staves, and manufacturers of wooden kegs nd that suitable heading material is very scarce and have for a long time been seeking some means to take its place.

l am aware that many efforts have been made to produce a metallic covering for wooden hogs. ln some instances the keg has been provided with an outside croze and the cover has enclosed the ends of the staves and the outer wall contracted int-o the @roze at the outer side of the keg. ln the first place it has been found impractical. to contract lthe metal in this outer Croze, and in the second place no practical means has been devised to remove the contracted portion from the cr ze. ln fact attempts have been made to use this construction and it been found wholly unsuited. finother effort has been made to hold the cover in by :friction only but this has been found impractical since the contents would force the cover out of the end of the keg. Many ther attempts have been made7 but so far as l am aware l am the firstto eipand the inner wall into the croze which Vmakes a very tight strong connection of the cover with the keg7 and ll. the first to discover how to remove the cover by bending it down with blows to cause the expanded portion to be removed from the croze in which it extends. lt will be understood that a keg packed with nuts, rivets, bolts or nails are sulfciently loose to enable the cover to beV removed in thegmanner e"- plained. My improvement has been shown to large manufacturers of wooden kegs and they have declared it to be a solution of the problem and have given me large: orders for it, although; they have been aware of 'these previous attempts to solve the problem.

-itention is directed to the fact that in my improved cover before its inner upwardly extending wall is expanded into the croze, the flat portion 7 is below the outer part l0. This arrangement is convenient and useful in placing the cover on the end of the keg in the inclined manner previously explained. It enables me to perform the operation which will cause the cover as it is gradually pushed downwardA to squeeze.l the ends of the staves into tight and lroper position. When the expansion is completed, the finished head as the surrounding ring or flange 1l is slightly below or substantially opposite `the expanded part 12 for the purpose previously stated.

My improved metal cover is quite a saving in the cost of the material as well as labor over the ordinary wood cover, In a wood cover it is necessary to furnish a band of metal 14 which is applied to the end of the keg after the wood head is placed in. position. This metal band requires the cost of the metal, the cost of putting in the two rivets 15 to attach the ends of the bands, and the cost of the nails 16, and thev time required to apply the nails. The driving in of the nails is guess work, sometimes being improperly performed, which fails to properly secure the head in position. Furtherniore when the lregs are to be exported with the Wooden heads, it is necessary to provide a band 17 which is nailed to the sides of the barrel and extends across the head, and is nailed to the head as shown at 18. With my improved head all ot' this is not required.

From the foreging descrip-tion it will be understood that the invention is adapted for barrels as well as lregs, and I desire it understood that slight modifications may be made in the specific construction without departing from my present invention so long as the modiiications are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention what I desire to claim and secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The improved process of applying a metal cover to a keg, which consists in providing a keg with an annular groove in its inner side adjacent one end, providing a metal cover with an inverted U-shaped periphery with its inner wall substantially straight, applying the said cover to the end of the keg, and then expanding the inner vertical wall outward into the said annular groove and thus tightly clamping the head to the keg.

2. The process of attaching and removing a metallic head to and from a keg, which consists in providing a keg having an an nular groove located at its inner side near one end, providing a metallic head having a substantially U-shaped periphery, the inner wall oi said U-shape being substantially straight, applying the said metal head to the end of the keg, then expanding the vertical portion ot the U-shape into the annular groove7 and removing the head from the keg by forcibly depressing the horizontal portion of the head thereby withdrawing the expanded portion from the said annular groove, whereby the head is readily re moved.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature.

GEORGE EUGENE MITTINGER. 

